LAC LA BICHE - For this year’s Terry Fox Run in Lac La Biche, Jordan Chan was inspired to run the 10-kilometre course to honour the memory of his father, Gene Chan, who passed away from cancer in 2018.
Chan, who is a recruit in the Community Peace Officer (CPO) program at the Law Enforcement Training Centre in Lac La Biche, is from Red Deer and was one of three dozen people to participate in the annual Terry Fox Run, which took place on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 15. The event honours cancer survivors and the memories of those, like Chan’s father, who had passed.
“He had both lung and liver cancer,” Chan told Lakeland This Week, explaining that his father was very health conscious and never drank or smoked. “It goes to show that you can live a healthy life, and you can still be susceptible…it doesn’t discriminate against anyone.”
TheTerry Fox Run, held globally each year as a fundraiser and awareness campaign, has stories like Chans in every community. The story of Terry Fox himself is one of inspiration, strength and loss.
Fox, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1977 and lost his leg to the disease, planned to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research.
His journey, known as the Marathon of Hope, started in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador on April 12, 1980. While Fox intended to run until he reached the British Columbia coast, by the time he made it to Thunder Bay, Ontario-a distance of 5,373 kilometres-he was forced to stop due to cancer spreading to his lungs.
Fox died on June 28, 1981, in New Westminster, British Columbia, at the age of 22.
For Chan, the late Terry Fox, considered by many to be one of Canada’s most iconic figures, has served as an inspiration, especially now that he is going through training to become a law enforcement officer. He said Fox is a powerful example of how people can keep going and persevere through even the most trying times in life.
“No matter what’s happening in your life, you can persevere,” he said. “We all have so many different difficulties in our lives, but it goes to show how much you can inspire other people and how little effort can go a really long ways.”
This year’s Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research started at McArthur Place before heading west along the lakeshore out to Nashim Drive and towards the Pleasant Acres subdivision before turning around and coming back to McArthur Place.
While on the route, participants ran, walked, and cycled. While some of those folks have been involved with the Canadian-wide event for several years, others, like Shannon Jackson, and her daughter, Jazlyn, were lacing up their running shoes for the first time.
“I was asked by a co-worker to come join and do it today,” Jackson said, adding that the event is important because it raises awareness about Terry Fox and what he stood for in the fight against cancer.
A total of 38 Terry Fox runs have been held in Lac La Biche since 1984, with $193,947.29 raised locally for cancer research during that four decade-period. Each year, the run typically raises $1,500 locally, which goes to the Terry Fox Foundation.